Fuel EXe Fuel exe reliability
- Thread starter ifu03558
- Start date
It seems to be a pretty reliable motor, but as with all e mtbs , reliable is a relative term.
I'd say there are the following known "issues", not sure I'd call them common, but they crop up
1. The controller/display seems to have a weakness where moisture can get in around the button and the button stops working, so you cant turn the bike on. A common way of preventing this seems to be putting some gorilla tape (or similar) over the button to make it more water tight. I did this on mine from new and havent had this issue, and I ride the bike in all weathers
2. Some people complain of the motor making a grinding noise at lower power, TQ say this can be a characteristic of the motor (there was a big thread on here about it in the early days of the bike) and is normal, it does not indicate a problem, but people have had replacement motors for this issue. Some motors seem noisier than others.
3. Some motors seem to overheat more than others when going up long inclines, and reduce the level of assist as a result. I've never seen this with mine, not sure whether this is due to heavier people, sub optimal gear choice or just a fault with the motor.
4. The handlebar remote control buttons can fail with use - the little microswitch fails. The fix is a new remote.
I had a new motor on mine after a couple of months, with mine the crank arms just disconnected from the motor mechanism, such that the crank arms could just spin freely in either direction, ie the pedalling would provide no drive at all. TQ supplied anew motor under warranty, the replacement motor has been fine for over a year now, and I havent seen anyone else complaining on the internet about the same issue.
The good thing is that Trek/TQ seem to be on top of the process for getting any warranty sorted quickly.
I reckon on the whole its as a reliable motor system as say the bosch cx gen4 which I think most people would say is the most reliable of the full fat motors - I also have a bike with this motor system, and have had a motor replaced under warranty on that too.
I'd say there are the following known "issues", not sure I'd call them common, but they crop up
1. The controller/display seems to have a weakness where moisture can get in around the button and the button stops working, so you cant turn the bike on. A common way of preventing this seems to be putting some gorilla tape (or similar) over the button to make it more water tight. I did this on mine from new and havent had this issue, and I ride the bike in all weathers
2. Some people complain of the motor making a grinding noise at lower power, TQ say this can be a characteristic of the motor (there was a big thread on here about it in the early days of the bike) and is normal, it does not indicate a problem, but people have had replacement motors for this issue. Some motors seem noisier than others.
3. Some motors seem to overheat more than others when going up long inclines, and reduce the level of assist as a result. I've never seen this with mine, not sure whether this is due to heavier people, sub optimal gear choice or just a fault with the motor.
4. The handlebar remote control buttons can fail with use - the little microswitch fails. The fix is a new remote.
I had a new motor on mine after a couple of months, with mine the crank arms just disconnected from the motor mechanism, such that the crank arms could just spin freely in either direction, ie the pedalling would provide no drive at all. TQ supplied anew motor under warranty, the replacement motor has been fine for over a year now, and I havent seen anyone else complaining on the internet about the same issue.
The good thing is that Trek/TQ seem to be on top of the process for getting any warranty sorted quickly.
I reckon on the whole its as a reliable motor system as say the bosch cx gen4 which I think most people would say is the most reliable of the full fat motors - I also have a bike with this motor system, and have had a motor replaced under warranty on that too.
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1,600 miles. My remote controller for the motor had to be replaced. That has been my only issue to date. The bike has been otherwise flawless. Motor is still quiet. Everything is as advertised. I would never buy anything with the Ride 60 motor. If I were you, I’d give it a few months to see who builds a bike with the new Bosch SX motor. It will have a maximum output of 600 wh.
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I ‘think’ I have the grinding noise issue.
It happens reasonably infrequently, but it does happen on every ride.
It’s almost like when you are pedalling at speed and trying to catch up with the gear you are in. I feel as though I’m pedalling too quickly with no assistance and the grinding noise is happening, but when the motor gear catches up with itself, everything instantly goes back to normal.
A poor description maybe, but the best way I can describe it.
The grinding lasts no longer than maybe a second or 2. It is not really loud.
It happens reasonably infrequently, but it does happen on every ride.
It’s almost like when you are pedalling at speed and trying to catch up with the gear you are in. I feel as though I’m pedalling too quickly with no assistance and the grinding noise is happening, but when the motor gear catches up with itself, everything instantly goes back to normal.
A poor description maybe, but the best way I can describe it.
The grinding lasts no longer than maybe a second or 2. It is not really loud.
- Thread starter
- #6
What's the range like in the middle power setting? Just really the climbing distance as most of my rides are up a steep fire road (400m) and bombing down an enduros trail which I do with the power off. On the Fazua I could get 1200m in the highest assistance and around 1500m in the middle setting.
It varies so much depending on the steepness of the hill, your speed, your weight etc, so its really hard to give any numbers that you can compare directly with your fazua numbers, the only way to know for sure for your circumstance would be to try one, But I get between 900m-1000m usually.
These guys say they typically got between 1000m and 1300m climbing out of it in mid mode (info approx two thirds of the way down)
2023 Trek Fuel EXe Review | This brand new lightweight e-MTB is the stealthiest we've ever tested
Brand new for 2023, the Trek Fuel EXe is a lightweight electric mountain bike that aims to bridge the gap between the regular Fuel EX and the Rail. So has Trek succeeded with its new e-MTB? And what does the unique German-made motor bring to the party? Read on for our Trek Fuel EXe review.
flowmountainbike.com
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You will get better range and more power with the Fazua. There are tests on line. It Is my understanding the Rise is still the most powerful and best range with the 540 wh battery. Great deals on those as well. Fazua has too many issues, and that is the same across all the bikes that use it.
Bajakid
Member
1300 HARD miles, lots of deep water crossings (motor is IP67) zero issues. Bike is solid!
DBSwiss
Active member
I got my first Fuel Exe in October 2022. One of the early bikes in the US. Trek replaced the motor after a year and 1300 miles because of that grinding noise many had experienced. Because they found that the motor mounting brackets were not properly molded into the frame, they decided to replace the frame as well. Fast forward to a few weeks ago. The motor started making very loud noises With 2300 miles. Not the same as the grinding noise at low speeds. The motor was sadly dying. When Treck removed it, they found a broken motor mounting bracket. i speculate here, but the mounting bracket breaking may have contributed to the motor failing. Trek was fantastic as they are replacing the motor and frame again. If you hear a loud noise from the motor, have the shop check the mounting brackets.
1234
New Member
I went through three motors on my EXe, first one definitely had something wrong with it after 2500km of pretty relentless climbing on it. It never stopped working it just got louder and started overheating more and more. None of them have overheated on me since. The second one had some manufacturing fault and shut off occasionally and had some intermittent power delivery issues so ended up with a new one, probably put 100-200km on that second motor. Third one has been all good. Also had a screen stop working so ended with a warranty replacement. From what I have read they revised the screens which mostly fixed the water ingress issue. I actually put my old screen on rice and that fixed it so now I have a spare screen.
After the EXe I got a Slash+, the motor on the Slash made a ticking/growling noise basically from new so ended up with a warranty one for that, second one hasn't seemed to of had any issues yet. Was low key hoping they would give me an HPR60 but still had some HPR50's in Aus/NZ so meh. Maybe one day. Was very happy to see that the HPR60 is backward compatible which is reassuring if something goes wrong out of warranty I can upgrade it (cough specialized kenevo...).
Typing that out it doesn't sound ideal but I really can't fault Trek's warranty service, and what's been most important to me is that it's never actually stopped working, even when it's made some weird noises or overheated (that did get kind of annoying, but was still usable), it's never actually fully stopped working. If the motor had ever stopped working entirely I probably wouldn't have bought the Slash. Basically I trust the TQ enough to not leave me stranded or leave me with a paperweight bike that I have to wait on to get fixed, and even if it's making a noise or whatever I haven't been without my bike for any longer than a couple of days so I have been happy with it.
And the turn around from Trek has been very good and they have been easy to deal with. Not sure what it's like out of warranty though. Main thing I would note is to be careful washing them, even with a hose as it seems like pressurised water can create issues. I also use my bike daily to commute to work on (short commute tbf) and 90% of my riding is basically winch and descent up very steep hills so it has a pretty hard life and has held up well pretty well considering.
After the EXe I got a Slash+, the motor on the Slash made a ticking/growling noise basically from new so ended up with a warranty one for that, second one hasn't seemed to of had any issues yet. Was low key hoping they would give me an HPR60 but still had some HPR50's in Aus/NZ so meh. Maybe one day. Was very happy to see that the HPR60 is backward compatible which is reassuring if something goes wrong out of warranty I can upgrade it (cough specialized kenevo...).
Typing that out it doesn't sound ideal but I really can't fault Trek's warranty service, and what's been most important to me is that it's never actually stopped working, even when it's made some weird noises or overheated (that did get kind of annoying, but was still usable), it's never actually fully stopped working. If the motor had ever stopped working entirely I probably wouldn't have bought the Slash. Basically I trust the TQ enough to not leave me stranded or leave me with a paperweight bike that I have to wait on to get fixed, and even if it's making a noise or whatever I haven't been without my bike for any longer than a couple of days so I have been happy with it.
And the turn around from Trek has been very good and they have been easy to deal with. Not sure what it's like out of warranty though. Main thing I would note is to be careful washing them, even with a hose as it seems like pressurised water can create issues. I also use my bike daily to commute to work on (short commute tbf) and 90% of my riding is basically winch and descent up very steep hills so it has a pretty hard life and has held up well pretty well considering.
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